Located in southern India, the western region of the country is primarily constituted by three peninsular rivers that flow into the Arabian sea.
The main water divide in Peninsular India is formed by the Western Ghats; these are also the oldest mountain range of India. There are several major river basins which can be found around these three peninsular rivers.
Most of the major rivers of the Peninsula, such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers make deltas at their mouths.
The Narmada and the Tapi are the only long rivers, which flow west and make estuaries.
The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river. It rises from the slopes of the Western Ghats in the Nasik district of Maharashtra. Its length is about 1500 km.
1. The Narmada Basin
The Narmada rises in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh. It flows from here through a deep gorge at the Marble rocks near Jabalpur. At Dhuadhar falls the river jumps over steep rocks. The Narmada basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The total basin area of the river is 97,410 square kilometer comprising 85,858 square kilometers in Madhya Pradesh, 1658 square kilometer in Maharashtra and 9894 square kilometer in Gujarat. The drainage area up to dam site is 88,000 square kilometers.
Shiva’s sweat accumulated in a tank and started flowing in the form of a river – the Narmada. Another legend has it that two teardrops that fell from the eyes of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, yielded two rivers – the Narmada and the Brahmaputra.
2. The Tapi Basin
The Tapi Basin is situated in the northern part of the Deccan Plateau and extends over an area of 65145 sqkm which is nearly 2% of the total geographical area of the country.
Its basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Nearly 80% of the basin lies in the State of Maharashtra.
The Tapti flows roughly parallel to the longer Narmada River to the north, from which it is separated by the main part of the Satpura Range.
3. The Godavari Basin
The Godavari River rises in northwestern Maharashtra state in the Western Ghats range, only about 50 miles (80 km) from the Arabian Sea, and flows for most of its course generally eastward across the broad plateau of the Deccan (peninsular India).
The Godavari is the largest Peninsular river. Its length is about 1500 km. The basin covers parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
The Godavari is joined by a number of tributaries, such as the Purna, the Wardha, the Pranhita, the Manjra, the Wainganga and the Penganga. Owing to its length and the area it covers, it is also known as the Dakshin Ganga.
4. The Mahanadi Basin
The Mahanadi rises in a pool, 6 km from Pharsiya village near Nagri Town in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh state at an elevation of 457 m.
The total length of the river form origin to its outfall into Bay of Bengal is 851 km of which 357 km lies in Chhattisgarh and 494 km in Odisha. The Mahanadi rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh.
The Mahanadi is a combination of many mountain streams and thus its precise source is impossible to pinpoint. However, its farthest headwaters lie 6 kilometres from Pharsiya village 442 metres above sea level about 11 km, in a dense patch of forest, south of Sihawa town in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh.
5. The Krishna Basin
The Krishna is the second largest eastward draining interstate river basin in Peninsular India.
The basin is situated between east longitudes 730 21′ to 810 09′ and north latitudes 130 07′ to 190 25′ in the Deccan Plateau covering large areas in the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
It rises from a spring near Mahabaleshwar. The length of the river is about 1400 km.
6. The Kaveri Basin
The Cauvery basin extends over states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry draining an area of 81,155 Sq.km which is nearly 2.7% of the total geographical area of the country with a maximum length and width of about 560 km and 245 km.
Kaveri is the lifeblood of both Karnataka and Tamil-Nadu Covering a large distance from the Western Ghats, she joins the Bay of Bengal in the East of India.
It rises on Brahmagiri Hill of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka state, flows in a southeasterly direction for 475 miles (765 km) through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and descends the Eastern Ghats in a series of great falls.
